by K. Bromberg
He picks me up in his arms and carries me over to my bed. He sets me down so I’m sitting on the edge and then pushes on my shoulders until I lie back. “Lift your hips.” I lift and he drags my shorts down my legs, stopping to kiss my inner thigh and then nip the sensitive skin there. My back arches and I feel slick between my legs. His mouth pulls back and his hands resume their task, pulling my shorts and panties past my knees, letting them slide down to my ankles. He removes them and tosses them on the floor. “Open your legs.”
I blush a bright red, I know it. Because my face is suddenly very hot.
“Open, Harper.”
Oh, God. I open my legs and close my eyes. The wetness practically gushes. He passes a few fingertips right down the crease of my slit. “Holy fuck. You are so ready. I like my women shaved, Harp. Since you’re so new at this, I’ll let it go. But later, once we get the basics out of the way, I’m gonna shave you.”
“What? No!”
He crawls up my body, stopping to suck on my nipple, then takes it between his teeth. I buckle my back and whine until he lets go and continues to kiss his way up my neck. I about die. “That’s not a limit you can negotiate. When we figure out what the fuck we’re doing you can get waxed regularly. But for now, this will have to do.”
I’m stuck on the word we for like five whole seconds as he crawls his way back down, placing his face between my legs.
We?
But my thoughts evaporate into nothing but bliss when his tongue touches my pussy. It flicks back and forth right on my spot and then he grabs me behind the knees and pushes my legs up and open, licking the entire length. “Ohhhhhmmmm,” I hum out as his tongue begins to do these little swirl patterns. I arch my back, making him lose his rhythm. His palm pushes down on my belly, hard enough to keep me in place.
A fingertip plays with that sensitive spot and I am about to lose myself in the ecstasy when everything suddenly stops. “No, Soldier. You may not come yet. Not until I give the command.”
“What—ohhhh.” His tongue is back, but then withdraws again. “What are you doing?” I’m flushed with excitement and my legs are beginning to tremble with the buildup.
“I said, not yet.”
“But why? That’s the whole reason—” His fingers withdraw and then dart up to my nipple to pinch. I squirm, but his palm is still firmly pushing down on my stomach. “Ahhh!”
“We can talk later, Harper, but for now be a good little soldier and do as you’re told. When I want you to come, I’ll let you know. Until then you fight it. Understand?”
I stare at his eyes. They burn bright with his desire. His mouth has traces of my wetness and I lick my lips. “OK.”
The squeeze on my nipple abates and then he reaches up to my mouth and traces my lips. His fingers smell like me. Like my desire. I open my mouth and suck on them, tasting my sweetness like I did the other night in the hallway.
James groans at this move and I feel a moment of power. He’s right. Sex is power. I have some power over him. This man who kills people for a living can be at my mercy if I listen to what he likes and learn how to please him.
“You’re so fucking sexy, you know that?”
He smiles when my answer is more sucking, more licking. I trace my tongue alongside his finger and then his other hand is at my entrance again. Rolling the little bundle of nerves between my legs in his fingers. I suck harder and he moans, letting me know I’m doing it right.
“I want your mouth on my cock again, Harper.”
“Me too,” I answer. And I do. I want to watch his face when he comes down my throat this time. I want to witness that power he says I have. I want to experience his release with him.
“Later, little soldier. I’m gonna fuck you hard first. Then we’ll shower and explore a little more.”
His fingers begin to pump inside me and my hands fly down to his head, pushing his face back to the v between my legs. “More, please,” I beg. “I want more of your tongue. I want you to lick me, James.”
When I say his name he growls and grabs my wrists in one hand. “Put them above your head, Harper. And don’t move them until I tell you.”
I obey immediately and I’m rewarded with his tongue against my clit. He flicks it back and forth a few times and then his whole mouth covers my pussy, sucking until I am close to the explosion. His hand returns to my belly, reminding me to control it and I throw my head back and pant as I look up at the ceiling. “Good girl,” he praises. “You’re such a good girl, Harper.”
“Hmmmmm,” is all I can manage to that. I’m so fucking close.
“I’m going to count. When I get to three you may release. Not two, not one, not four. Three, Harper.”
I nod enthusiastically. “Yes, three.” I push against his fingers, trying to push him farther inside me.
He pumps me hard several times, hitting a spot inside that makes me call out his name and grab the pillow above my head. “Ohhh. God.”
“One,” he says just before he lowers his face to my clit again. He sucks hard this time, making the orgasm slow with the sensation. I relax just as his fingers increase their rhythm and he removes his mouth to say, “Two.” This time his tongue swirls gently against my clit and the explosion builds again. Little by little, with each passing second, I begin to lose control. He doesn’t stop this time, but his palm on my stomach reaches up and twists my nipple to bring my focus back. I bite my lip and the tiny bite he made in my skin opens up again and I taste blood. I’m just about to be calm when he grabs my whole breast and squeezes. He thrusts his fingers inside me, his thumb brushes up against my clit and he takes it in his mouth to suck. I almost lose my mind with the build-up, and only his firm grasp of my breast keeps me focused. I wince and clamp my pussy around his fingers.
The sensations between my legs stop and before I understand what’s happening, his mouth is on mine. His tongue is both sweet and sour with the taste of myself. He pulls back a fraction, his fingers still pumping wildly as I writhe underneath him. “Three,” he whispers.
My orgasm comes with a long moan and then his whole hand is working my pussy as I ride out the wave, bucking myself against his palm, looking for more friction, more everything. I see stars and my world goes dark. My heart races and his lips kiss me over and over again.
“You did good,” he whispers. “You did so good. You’re perfect, Harper. You’re so perfect.” He continues to kiss me, his motions inside me slow now, but not completely stopped. When I finally relax he withdraws his fingers and I open my mouth as I wait for him to slide them inside and place them on my tongue. I lick and suck as he watches, his eyes filled with desire, his expression content with my performance.
He removes his fingers and then leans down and kisses me deeply. Slowly. He explores me. His hands on my body, rubbing up and down my thigh, then dipping into my folds again to flick my clit.
I moan. It’s still so sensitive.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
I open my eyes and look at him as I nod. “Yes.”
“Are you willing to give yourself to me now?”
I nod again. “Yes.”
“Are you sure you want me to be the only one you ever fuck for the rest of your life?”
My brow furrows in confusion.
“Because you’re mine. If I’m your first I’m going to be your last. So I need you to be sure.” He watches me as I process his words. “Are you sure?”
He’s so beautiful. My characterization of him that first day was dead on. His eyebrows raise at my silence, but I reach up and brush a stray piece of dark hair from his eyes. “I’m yours, James. I swear it, I’m yours.” And I mean every word.
“I know you are. You’re mine, you were meant to be mine.” He gets up from the bed and stands before me. “Undress me, Harper.”
The way he uses my name in his soft commands gives me a thrill. My whole body tingles as he waits. I stand in front of him for a moment, taking in his body. And then I grab the hem of his tight blac
k t-shirt and lift, slowly dragging my hands over the rock-hard surface of his abdomen. His muscles ripple underneath. His body is tanned a golden brown like mine. I pull the shirt up to his arms and then he takes over, whipping it over his head and throwing it down on the ground.
“Have you ever—?”
I know what he’s asking, so I just shake my head no.
“God.” He stops and just stares down at me. Stares into me. “How did this happen?” My whole body is overcome with heat and I actually hold my breath. Because I agree… something about this is so… improbable.
But then he reaches for me, pulls me into a gentle embrace, and all my doubts evaporate.
My hands instinctively fall down his chest. His skin is taut and firm. Every muscle well-defined. He has no markings at all. No tattoos, no scars. “You’re absolutely perfect,” I whisper.
“It’s all yours. If we do this, I’ll be all yours.”
I smile at that. “You promise?”
He suddenly cups my face and leans in to kiss me. “Forever. If we do this, you’re mine, forever.”
That’s so confusing, but I’m not in the mood to think. I only want to react now. I kneel on the floor and look up. I want to remember him like this. Looking down on me with pure adoration. My fingers unbuckle his belt slowly and I catch the sudden intake of breath when my hand passes innocently over his hard cock beneath the soft fabric of his pants. I watch carefully to see if he likes my touch and his eyes are at half-mast. His hands go to mine and remind me what I’m doing.
I unbutton his jeans and drag the zipper until the length of him is visible beneath his boxers. I swallow, a little nervous. But then I pull his clothing down in one movement and his dick springs forward. I look up as I take it in my mouth, licking the tip.
His head falls backwards and his mouth opens when I seal my lips around him and suck. He palms my head, pushing me forward to meet his cock. I try to mimic the way he sucked on my clit—swirling my tongue and sucking on his smooth head. He growls, “Yes, Harper. Just like that.”
I open my mouth wider and try to take his full length, but he stops me with firm pressure on my head. “No, baby. I just want a little tease. I’m gonna come inside you, but not down your throat.”
Thoughts of birth control flit through my mind briefly, but he reaches down and picks me straight up into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, his cock pressing against my belly. He turns us around and sits on the bed, keeping me in his lap, then kicks off his shoes and jeans so we are both naked.
His hand reaches between my legs and finds me as slick as I was when I orgasmed. “You’re ready for me. Lift up, put my cock in your entrance, and then ease down.” I swallow and look him in the eyes as he smiles. “Go as slow as you want. I’m not in a rush.”
I take a deep breath and nod. Then lift up a little, grab his cock, and rub it back and forth against my pussy until it’s very wet. The tip slides inside me easily, and for a moment I think that’s all there is to it.
But then I ease down and he fills me up beyond capacity, stretching me. I gasp as the pain threatens to overtake me, but James cups my face again and tilts my chin so I have to look at him. “Slow, baby. No hurry. Go slow. Enjoy me. Enjoy how I feel inside you.”
I swallow hard and lift up a little. Feeling his slick cock slide against my skin. I lower just a little bit, stop when it hurts, and rise up again. I do this over and over again, and with each time, James groans. “You feel so good,” he assures me. “You’re so tight,” he whispers in my ear. “Try to go a little farther now, baby. I’m dying to be inside you. All the way inside you.”
My body responds to his requests like they’re an order. I want this too. I want him inside me more than anything I’ve ever wanted before. I let him sink deeper into me, biting back the shock of pain and the gasp that wants to escape. I bury my head in his neck and pant hard. His hands go to my ass, urging me to move the way he wants me to. I give in to him.
I am his.
He lifts me up, almost to the point that his dick is threatening to escape my pussy. But then he slams me down on his lap and the pain shoots straight up my spine. It threatens to overtake me when I feel his fingers playing with my ass. They press against the tight muscles and I gasp, the pain from my disintegrating hymen forgotten as he explores me in a new way.
I moan into his neck, the new sensations almost too much. “Can I come, James? I want to come so bad. I want to come on your dick.”
“This is all about you, baby. If my cock inside your pussy feels good to you, then come all over me, Harper.”
My name on his lips sends me over the edge. My body arches as I throw my head back and moan out his name. “James…”
As soon as the contractions begin to slow, James wraps his arms around me and lies back on the bed, pulling me tightly to his chest. His hips begin a punishing rhythm underneath me, thrusting himself deeper and deeper inside me, his balls smacking against my ass so hard, reminding me of his fingers a few minutes ago.
We come together this time. We explode into an orgasm that makes me blind and helpless to think of anything but this perfect man beneath me.
Chapter Thirteen
HARPER
He scoots up towards the head of the bed, keeping himself inside me as we move together. He collapses back on the pillow and hugs me close. “Harper, God, I can’t believe we’re here.”
I scrunch my face up as I ponder that question. “What do you mean?”
He rolls, removing his cock from me, and then flips me around and pulls my ass up to his hips. “Sleep,” he says. “We’ll finish this in the morning.”
I frown as I lie here. Running all this back in my mind. His sudden appearance on the pier. The way he dove in after me. I guess it makes sense that he fingered me for the missing girl. But then… if he’s really Number Six, he would’ve called this in immediately. If he knew who I was, then he’s asking for a death sentence by not calling it in.
“Sleep, Harper,” he says with a little more authority. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” I wiggle out of his grip and get up. “Where—”
“The bathroom,” I say back defensively. I suppose it’s a bad time to actually start using my head. I mean, I just gave him my virginity. The Admiral will go ballistic. And if James is Number Six, then he knows this. Maybe he’s on the run too? Maybe he’s my father’s enemy?
I close the bathroom door and start the shower. I feel dirty all of a sudden. It felt good, hell yes, it felt good. But now that my need has been satiated and my mind is clearing—I have questions. I have a lot of questions.
Like… how long has he been watching me? He hinted at months. Months? That makes very little sense, really. He said he killed his brother, Number Five, and they needed him to take some downtime. Evaluate him. I can see that. You don’t kill another Company assassin with no consequences. And you certainly don’t kill your brother.
I would kill to have my brother right now. I’d do just about anything to have my brother.
I start the hot water and watch my naked self in the mirror as I wait for it to warm up.
Why am I still here? In this apartment? In this town? On land? Is it really possible that the Admiral has no idea where I’m at? I mean, I was careful when I left. I poisoned the entire ship. They were sick as dogs, even the captain, so we were dead in the water about sixty miles south of Tahiti. I might even have killed some of them. I have no idea, because our ship has a very nice tender boat. One of the nicest in the world, just like the super yacht that carries it. And since my entire life, from birth to that moment when I opened the garage door and lowered the tender out onto the sea, was spent sailing the oceans of the world on these massive yachts, driving it straight to the port all by myself was not at all difficult.
We’ve been to Tahiti lots of times. So many times I was recognized. And welcomed. Of course, I’ve never showed up alone before, but this was the day after my birthday, I told them with genuine excitement. The adrenaline coursing t
hrough my blood was making me jittery, but the local customs agent took it as nerves from being on my own for the first time.
I got everything in order at the dock, paid the fee. And took a cab straight to Faa'a International where I boarded a plane to Hawaii. I stepped off that plane Harper Tate and boarded the next one as Jillian Stewart. And when I landed in Los Angeles I was free.
I had one backpack, but it contained a key. A key my brother gave me the day before our eighteenth birthday. I have no idea how he got a hold of it, but I didn’t ask. Because that was our last day together and I was still in denial that he would leave without me.
It’s not like he had a choice. They took him. But he left behind the key.
There was an address and a number engraved on it. I took a cab to the UCLA Library, rode the elevator up to the fifth-floor quarter lockers. And found my future.
Thirty thousand dollars. A phone number. A phone. A flash drive in the shape of a fish. And a bottle of Ativan, with a warning on the outside from Nick not to take them unless it was absolutely necessary. It took us six months to wean me off them. It was a long process and even now, after being mostly clean for almost a year, I still run to the pills when things get overwhelming.
And then I took my money, called the number, took a cab to the address, paid the rent in full for one year, and sat down in that solitary chair in the living room and waited.
It took me weeks to settle in. I looked over my shoulder everywhere I went. I imagined my life if I had stayed one more day. Married off to some old man.
That’s what my father was planning. It was no secret that Nick and I would be separated on our eighteenth birthday, but they kept this little marriage deal quiet until I was sixteen. Then ever so slowly, hints would be dropped. Oh, Harper, you will make some lucky man very happy when you turn eighteen. Hints like that was how it started. But by the time I was seventeen they were overt. Which dress do you like for your wedding, Harper? the shoppers in port would ask me.